For all the obvious wisecracks about its name, the annual “Funniest Celebrity in Washington” contest has triumphed in getting some of this city’s major players to cut loose with surprisingly outrageous stand-up comedy acts — with the rationale that it’s all for a good cause, of course…

But despite the VIP luster — and tickets starting at $200 — tax records and interviews show that the D.C. perennial has failed in the past five years to make any contributions to the charities for which it promised to raise money. Virtually all revenue appears to have been eaten up by the costs of putting on the one-night show, plus a year-round part-time salary for founder-CEO-host Richard Siegel and administrative expenses that charity-finance experts say are unusually high for such a small organization.

Siegel — whose tax-exempt organization “supports children’s charities,” according to its IRS filings — blames the charities. He says they failed to live up to agreements to sell $20,000 worth of tickets and sponsorships, an assertion at least one charity disputes. Ticket sales by Funniest Celebrity “essentially cover operational costs,” Siegel said in a statement.

There was much discussion around the WTOP-WFED offices yesterday about whether it was appropriate for me and WTOP Man About Town Bob Madigan should participate.

Here is how I am going to deal with it…

Frankly, I am always a bit uncomfortable when we wrap these kids of events with some charity. Generally, I want transparency in where my money is going, so… I’ll pay for my entertainment, and I’m happy to pay the charities that I deem worthy. A few years ago, I rode in the new defunct AIDS Ride DC, which was supposed to benefit DC’s Whitman-Walker Clinic. Unfortunately there was a loathsome organization, which seems to have dissolved, that was taking more than half of the money that people donated. So when I did the ride, I asked people to give specifically to Whitman-Walker — and I would match their donations by covering my bicycling expenses. In the end, I don’t expect for people to pay for me to bike.

I am going to use a similar model for the event tonight — I have donated $200 will be donatingmoney to the cause — StandUp for Kids

STANDUP FOR KIDS, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 to help rescue homeless and at-risk youth. With national headquarters in Atlanta, GA, STANDUP FOR KIDS is run almost entirely by volunteers. For more information, please visit www.standupforkids.org

There have been all kinds of names floating around, but… expect the White House to nominate Daniel Gordon, the deputy general counsel for the Government Accountability Office, to be nominated… and possibly very soon.

Gordon will well liked and respected — and yet an interesting selection. He has focused on workforce issues, but he also serves as GAO’s ethics counselor. And it is interesting to select an OFPP administrator from the oversight community. One procurement insider tells me that he has a “brilliant mind” and that he has an “interesting background — including having served in the Israeli Army.”

* Tel-Aviv University (doctoral studies in German history) (1981-82)
* University of Marburg (Germany) (1972)
* University of Munich (Germany) (1971)
* Institute of Political Studies (Paris) (1970-71)

There have been a number of names that have been floated around… I also heard most of them — and dis-confirmed them. FCW acquisition reporter Matthew Weigelt has been tracking it fairly closely — and he has a good story assessing what people hope comes from the new OPFF administrator. And Weigelt has reported some of the names that have been making the rounds — Cathy Garman a staffer on the House Armed Services Committee, David Gragan, the chief procurement officer for the District of Columbia, and David Yarkin, president of Government Sourcing Solutions.

There is a growing mini-debate going on among the gov 2.0 community: Is it “social media” or is it… something else. There are options, but… first off, why should be the term “social media” be verboten.

There are several reasons that I, personally, not a fan of the term “social media.”

First — I don’t think it is accurate. In the end, enterprise organizations aren’t using these tools because of the socialness they provide. And I’m not really sure I would classify these tools as “media.”

But nearly as important, I think the term “social media” allows people discount the use of these tools as, essentially, glorified dating sites. In the end, the socialness of these tools is merely one element of their value. There definitely is a “social” aspect to them, but that is not the value of them — particularly for large organizations like government.

They hear “social,” in short, and think it means not work-related, or time wasting, or productivity-draining. Because of this tendency, I rarely if ever use the word social when discussing Enterprise 2.0. I prefer instead collaborative, a term that has largely positive connotations for business leaders. People collaborate in order to get work done and solve problems, and these days there’s no shortage of problems to solve.

In the end, what these tools are really about — and why I talk about them as much as I do — is that these tools provide a unique way for agencies to do something that they have long sought to do — share information… to work together… to collaborate. If these tools were just about being social, they would have been written off long ago.

But I think the debate is not just one of semantics. Words have meaning — and impact. And the term “social media,” in some ways allows people to ban these tools, which are increasingly becoming an essential part of missions. And it is remarkable how we go through these fits over new technologies. I wasn’t around, but I’m guessing we did it with the phone. I know we did it with e-mail.

In fact, if I had my druthers, they would ban e-mail — I exaggerate for effect, of course, but… we use e-mail because it is the tool that we are comfortable using. E-mail is not collaborate. It isn’t a way to share information. It isn’t transparent. And it isn’t made available for large groups. E-mail does what every management expert will tell you not to do — it puts an electronic front end on the existing process of postal mail.

In that column, I note that I remember when the General Services Administration (GSA), under then-administrator David J. Barram, was one of the first agencies to ensure that each person in the organization had e-mail — on Flag Day 1996. GSA, thankfully, still has the press release online under the headline, “GSA Employees Join Super Information Highway through Intranet.”

That release, dated June 14, 1996, quotes Barram defining what the Internet is. The “Internet is known as the global communications network and it is being called by many experts the most promising avenue for business in existence today. Through the use of Internet, companies and government agencies worldwide are finding exciting new ways to serve their customers and communicate with each other,”

E-mail revolutionized the way we communicate… and e-mail definitely has a “social” aspect to it, but… it isn’t “social media.” It is a tool that enables organizations to do their job better and more effectively.

Unfortunately, since then, we try to use e-mail as a collaboration tool. We used it as such in the 1990s, and it helped us then because we did not have other tools. But other options are available to us today.

I should also give kudos to the National Academy of Public Administration. When NAPA was creating a place where they could pull all these items together, I spoke to them about the name — I thought then, years ago now — that the name was important. Wisely, they selected the name, The Collaboration Project. It has become a remarkable place for sharing ideas across government.

So I’d be happy to hear other suggestions for replacing the term “social media” — but for right now, I’ll be using collaboration tools.

I was out yesterday so I wasn’t able to highlight this — I had heard it was in the works awhile ago — but OMB chief performance officer Jeffrey Zients yesterday announced that Shelley Metzenbaum has joined the Obama administration.

From Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller’s story yesterday:

He announced at the hearing that Shelley Metzenbaum would be joining OMB to help oversee the performance management agenda. Metzenbaum, who will be OMB’s associate director for performance and personnel management, is a former Clinton administration appointee with the Environmental Protection Agency, an author of several performance management books and the founder the Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts.

Metzenbaum is the daughter of the late Sen. Howard Metzenbaum and she is married to Harvard Kennedy School Professor Steve Kelman, the former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy during the Clinton administration.

* Update on programs put on hold… Earlier this year, Baker took the somewhat unusual step of putting 45 IT programs on hold pending review. (Baker on was Federal News Radio’s In Depth program talking about it. Hear that here.) What’s the status of those… and how much of a role did the Federal IT Dashboard really play in making that decision?

* VA’s Innovation competition… In asking employees for their best ideas, the VA has come up with a few of its own. An internal competition for innovation is seen as a benchmark process ready to spread far beyond the agency’s firewalls and across the federal landscape.

Santa Claus came to Federal News Radio 1500 AM this morning — yes, a bit early, but… it’s all for a good cause. For the past three years, Microsoft Federal the the USO of Metro DC have led a program called A Salute to Our Troops. The program is dedicated to recognizing and thanking service men and women for their commitment by providing… well, some fun for them and their families.

Santa and the DorobekInsider

The past two years, the focus has been on New York — Microsoft bought out Radio City Music Hall for a performance of the remarkable Christmas Spectacular. This year, the Rockettes are on the road — including a trip here in Washington, DC — and Microsoft is hosting a performance at DC’s Verizon Center.

And Federal News Radio and the Washington Capitals are participating through the Courage Caps program — and on Nov. 11th, 50 wounded soldiers will be treated to a special Veteran’s Day Capitals game.

Microsoft and the USO of Metropolitan Washington will kick off the third season of the annual A Salute to Our Troops program on Wednesday, Sept. 23 with some help from Santa Claus. On Wednesday morning, Santa will be traveling around Washington DC on a pedicab, giving out goodies from his sack and promoting the A Salute to the Troops program.

After lunch, he will meet up with the Radio City Rockettes near the White House as they then travel together to see some DC sites and head to Fort Myer, Virginia for a meet and greet with troops and to kick off the excitement for December’s Radio City Christmas Spectacular show, which is coming to D.C.

WHO: “Salute” Santa Claus on a Pedicab (all morning)

The World Famous Radio City Rockettes (with Salute Santa, in the afternoon)

This year, A Salute to Our Troops will take place in Washington, DC and will include multiple activities to brighten the season for U.S. troops and their families. Activities will range from an Operation USO Care Package day with the Washington Capitals and WTOP/WFED Radio; to the USO of Metropolitan Washington “Courage Cap” program which will be announced at a special game of the Washington Capitals where 50 wounded warriors will be in attendance.

Finally, in keeping with the USO tradition of entertaining the troops, on Sunday, December 20(th), Microsoft will treat 8,200 troops and their families to a private showing of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes at DC’s Verizon Center. Ticket information can be found at http://www.salutesanta.com.

Founded in 2007 by Microsoft in cooperation with the USO of Metropolitan New York and USO of Metropolitan Washington, A Salute to Our Troops program honors the many faces of courage and inspiration belonging to individuals who demonstrate selfless dedication to our country. For more information on the 2009 A Salute to Our Troops program, visit: www.salutesanta.com.

I don’t typically post full items, but I will post this one from Teresa Carlson, the head of Microsoft Federal, who wrote about the program her FedFocus blog:

Santa Claus is coming to town early this year! In fact, he’ll be travelling around Washington D.C. tomorrow morning, handing out goodies to promote the 3rd annual A Salute to Our Troops program. A Salute to Our Troops is dedicated to recognizing and thanking our service men and women for their commitment to our country by providing entertainment for them and their families.

Microsoft created the program in partnership with the United Service Organization (USO),and the conclusion of this year’s program will include a complimentary showing of Radio City Music Halls’ Christmas Spectacular at the Verizon Center for 8,200 troops and their families. We are so excited to bring the program to D.C. for the first time this year, and we hope that through highlighting the courageous stories of our service men and women that we can inspire others to get involved and volunteer. The event is always such a great time, and the Washington Capitals will be adding to the fun this year through the Courage Caps program. On November 9th, the USO is partnering with WTOP/Federal News Radio and Capitals players to stuff care packages for our warriors overseas, and 50 wounded soldiers will be treated to a special Veteran’s Day Capitals game on November 11th.

Santa’s visit tomorrow morning officially kicks off this year’s festivities. After his tour through downtown, he’ll be meeting up with the Radio City Rockettes near the White House to do some site seeing before heading to Fort Myer, Virginia to visit with troops. If you spot him, let us know on Twitter (@FutureFed #salutesanta) and take a photo and send it to salutesanta@live.com for a chance to win a prize! Tomorrow I’ll post some photos of his tour, but in the meantime, visit SaluteSanta.com to get involved!